Meaning & use
wholesome
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Good for your health, especially food that is natural and nourishing.
Grammar: Before a noun or after be: a wholesome meal.
The cafe serves wholesome soups and fresh bread.
Oats are a wholesome breakfast.
She cooks wholesome food for her kids.
adjectivecomparableapproving
Morally good and suitable, not harmful or shocking.
Grammar: Describes entertainment, activities, people.
The show offers wholesome family fun.
He had a wholesome, friendly smile.
It was a wholesome comedy with no bad language.
Word forms
| comparative | more wholesome |
|---|---|
| superlative | most wholesome |
Common combinations
- wholesome food
- Wholesome food keeps you healthy.
- wholesome fun
- They enjoyed a day of wholesome fun.
- wholesome image
- The band has a wholesome image.
- a wholesome meal
- A wholesome meal costs little.
Synonyms and how they differ
- healthy
- Plainer, and only about health.
- nutritious
- Only about food value.
- decent
- Stresses acceptable morals.
- virtuous
- Stronger moral meaning, sometimes sarcastic.
Opposites
Word family
- wholesomeness noun
- the quality of being wholesome
- wholesomely adverb
- in a wholesome way
Commonly confused: wholesome or wholesale?
wholesome vs wholesale
Wholesale means selling in large amounts to shops.
Practice
The camp offers ___ activities like hiking and campfire songs, suitable for all ages.
Choose one answer.
Wholesome means healthy and good. Wholesale is about selling in bulk.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wholesome”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.